Filthy Secret

Jo took a bite of her donut, the sweet, cakey goodness making her sigh. “Oh, it was fine. And I wasn’t by myself. I hung out with Sawyer.”

Frankie wasted not one nanosecond before pouncing like a jungle cat. “I knew it! Spill the details.”

Ugh, there was no way of getting around this. Her sister was a detective, with interrogation skills and everything. “There are no details. At least, not the kind you’re looking for,” Jo said pointedly. “He took pity on me, sitting at the bar by myself, and we got to talking.”

Both Frankie and Isabella stared at her, and she had no choice but to confess the rest. “He, um, also might have asked me to meet him out later tonight. But I really don’t think it’s a big deal.”

“Bullshit!” Frankie crowed. “That’s a date.”

“Hate to say it, but yep. Totally a date,” Isabella agreed.

“It might be a date,” Jo agreed. God, this was crazy. “But I’m sure he goes on tons of them.”

Tipping her head, Isabella said, “Actually, I don’t think so. Kellan hangs out with Sawyer kind of on the regular. There’s a veterans’ group that meets up a few times a month. Kellan was an Army Ranger before he became a firefighter,” she added. “He’s never mentioned Sawyer seeing anybody. Or a lot of anybodys.”

Frankie nodded. “He was definitely flirting with you.”Please check at N/ôvel(D)rama.Org.

Here, Jo had to concede. Sawyer had even told her as much. Still… “Don’t you think it’s a little…”

“Exciting?” Frankie asked.

Jo let out a sigh, sliding onto one of the stools at the breakfast bar. “I was going to say crazy.”

“What’s so crazy about it?” Isabella asked.

“Well, for one, he’s freaking beautiful.” Jo started ticking the reasons off on her fingers. “Two, I’ve got to have at least half a decade on him, probably more. And three, I don’t even think I remember how to date.”

Isabella raised her brows in question. Thankfully, Frankie took the reins and said, “Jo’s got a five-year-old and an ex who didn’t do her ego any favors.”

“Ah. Well, I get how your past can mess with you,” Isabella said, and something told Jo the woman was speaking from firsthand experience, “and as someone who hasn’t been single for a long time, I may not be the best authority here. But isn’t dating kind of like riding a bike?”

Jo laughed, because it was better than the alternative. “This is my first date since, like, the Jurassic period. Anyway, I don’t even live here. Maybe I should just cancel and forget it.”

She fully expected Frankie to pull out all that mettle that made her a great detective. So it was quite the gut-punch when her sister’s voice came softly.

“You could do that,” Frankie said. “But you could also look at it as one night to have fun with a good and good-looking guy. Nothing more, nothing less. If anyone deserves that, it’s you.”

Jo paused. When she put it that way, it seemed almost logical. “I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to go on one little date.” Sawyer knew she lived in Savannah, and anyway, it’s not as if he wanted to get serious. He’d asked her on exactly one flirty date.

“Who knows?” Frankie waggled her brows, and there was the sister Jo knew all too well. “Maybe you’ll have a lot of fun.”

“Let’s not get crazy,” Jo warned. “We’re only going to spend a couple hours together.”

But as Frankie thankfully dropped the subject and the conversation turned to other things, Jo couldn’t help but wonder just how good a little crazy might feel.

TEN HOURS LATER, Jo got out of her Lyft and took in her surroundings. Because flying blind was so not on her agenda, especially where “getting adventurous” was concerned, she’d Googled the address Sawyer had given her not long after Frankie and Isabella had left for their respective precincts. Her search had yielded precious little by way of insight into Sawyer’s plans, as the Remington Sports Complex housed everything from indoor zip lining to batting cages. But no matter what he had planned, Jo had promised herself she’d go into things with an open mind. Tonight was about fun.

Unless he was crazy enough to want to take her zip lining. Oh, God, on second thought, maybe stepping outside of her comfort zone with a guy she barely knew was a bad idea after all-

“Hey! You made it.” Sawyer’s voice slid over her like warm honey, rooting her feet to the ground despite her hammering heart, and God, was there no end to her libido’s treachery?

“I did,” Jo said, unable to take the suspense any longer. “So, what’s our big adventure?”

Sawyer shifted, revealing a duffel bag slung over one shoulder. “Well, I had to do a little reconnaissance in order to make this happen, so I hope you don’t mind, but…” He rummaged through the bag for a minute before tugging something out and-

“Ice skates?” she asked with a laugh.

“Yeah. I texted Frankie to ask her what size you wear, and you just so happen to be the same size as one of our bartenders, January. She’s about eight months pregnant with twins, and definitely not skating this season, but she was more than happy to loan these out.”

“I haven’t skated in ages,” Jo admitted, her stomach dipping at how much potential this date had to end in tragedy. Or the emergency department.

Sawyer tilted his head at her, looking far too sexy in a black knit hat that was the perfect contrast to the blond hair peeking out from beneath the fabric. “We could go zip lining instead, if you want.”

Her eyes went wide-a normal girl’s reaction to mortal fear, thank you very much-and Sawyer laughed. “Relax, Jo. I’m only kidding about the zip lining. I skate here a lot, and I can help you if you need it. Okay?”

“Okay,” she agreed. Sawyer put her borrowed skates back into his bag, and they turned toward the entrance to the sports complex, falling into step side by side. They passed the batting cages and a huge indoor swimming pool, both with large observation windows for onlookers to check out the action within. Frankie suppressed her shudder at the sign reading Zip Lining/Obstacle Course with a bold arrow marking the way, relief flickering through her as Sawyer led her in the other direction.

“In the winter, the rink is outdoors, under a covered pavilion,” he said, holding the door open so she could pass through. Sure enough, chilly air surrounded them as soon as they got to the benches lining the perimeter of the brightly lit ice, and Jo was glad she’d gone with her fleece-lined leggings and oversized sweater.

“Any pointers?” she asked, her heart skipping about six beats at how efficiently he’d slipped out of his boots and into a pair of well-worn hockey skates.

“Not really. If you’ve skated before, it’ll come back to you with some practice.” He gestured to the skates she’d been fumbling with in a non- verbal may I? and while Jo might have enough pride to fill a semi, she also wasn’t above trusting an expert.